The invention relates to interfaces for use on a visual display of a computer system to allow an operator to interact with the computer system. More specifically, it relates to an improved user friendly interface for use in an interactive environment which involves the positioning of an object for imaging and also for analysis, comparison and manipulation of the image of the object.
The first personal computers had very crude and hard to use interfaces which in some instances amounted to knowing special codes which one then typed into the computer. Since then, one of the driving forces in the development and improvement of computers has been the improvement of the user interface. The trend has been to develop user friendly, intuitive and generally graphical visually based interfaces. In fact, the success or failure of some products, in particular, software products, has been their user interfaces and how easy they made the product to master and use. However, such a plethora of interfaces now exist that the user now has to often master a new interface for each new product or application encountered and used.
Thus, there is a continuing need to improve interfaces and make them easier and more intuitive in their operation. Additionally, a significant need exists to make interfaces with enough flexibility and capacity to allow them to function with a fairly wide variety of applications but still retain their flexibility, intuitive feel and usefulness. One significant area in which this need exists in is image acquisition and image analysis, comparison and manipulation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a user friendly generally intuitive interface for use with a computer system which has sufficient flexibility and adaptability to be used in a variety of different applications.
The object of the present invention is achieved by providing an interface apparatus for manipulating a workpiece positionable by movement means. The interface apparatus has a first annular control means responsive to operator input for generating a rotational control signal for rotating said workpiece within a common reference frame and a second annular control means responsive to operator input for generating a translational motion control signal for movement of said workpiece within the common reference frame. The apparatus also has a command and control mechanism to generate the specified control signals upon operator input, transmit the control signals to said movement means and initiate activity specified by the operator input. The apparatus in this aspect of the invention allows the operator to position the workpiece for at least one of the following imaging, analysis and comparison.
In another aspect of this invention, the interface apparatus has a third annular control means for generating a translational motion control signal, for movement of the workpiece within the reference frame, wherein the control signal generated by the second annular control means moves the workpiece in small increments and the signal generated by the third annular control means moves the workpiece in large increments.
In another aspect of this invention the two annular control means of the interface apparatus are concentric so that they share a common center. The interface apparatus has at the common center of the first and second concentric annular control means at least two activable buttons, the first button when activated rotates the work piece in a clockwise direction and the second button when activated rotates the work piece in a counterclockwise direction.
In another aspect of this invention the second annular control means of the interface apparatus is segmented into four equal arcs, with each arc forming a separate button for directed motion, which on individual activation of each button generates a control signal for movement of the workpiece on a vector in a direction which is radially away from a common center of the arcs and normal to a center of a peripheral outside edge of the arc so activated, the arcs being so positioned that the direction of a vector of any one arc is perpendicular to the direction of vectors of the two adjacent arcs when each is activated by operator input, and 180 degrees from the direction of a vector of an arc on the opposite side of the common center of the arcs when activated by operator input. The interface apparatus includes a third annular ring, also segmented into four equal arcs, each arc so formed being paired with an arc of the second annular ring so that the paired arcs form two buttons for movement of the workpiece along a vector in the same direction, one of the arcs of each pair providing for small incremental movements of the workpiece and the other arc of each pair providing for large incremental movements of the workpiece.
In yet another aspect of this invention the control signal generated by operator input at a selected spot on the second annular control means moves the workpiece within the common reference frame in a direction of a vector radially away from a common center of the second annular control means and normal to a tangent line formed at the closest point on an outside periphery of the annular control means to the selected spot on the second annular control means activated by operator input
In yet another aspect of the invention the command and control mechanism is a programmable computer with a visual display. The computer system of the invention being in functional communication with an imaging device and an object positioning device, the imaging device being placed in relation to the object positioning device such that upon operator input, applied through the interface, the computer system can generate the necessary control signal to position the object held by the object positioning device in a focal plane of the object imaging device so that the imaging device can focus on the object and transmit to the computer for display on the visual display the image of that object so obtained.
In yet another aspect of this invention the first annular control means can be switched between a first operational state wherein it rotates an object and a second operational state wherein contours of a surface of the object can be mapped to an outside periphery of the first annular control means so that a representation of the contours of the surface of the object appears on the outside periphery of the first annular control means. The second operation state maps those portions of the contours of the object which have been successfully imaged and stored in a memory by the computer system. The object imaged in the preferred embodiment generally being a spent bullet and the first annular control means of the interface apparatus in the second operational state displays on its outside periphery contours of land engraved areas of the bullet successfully imaged and stored by the computer in a memory.
In yet another aspect of this invention, the workpiece is an image of a reference object and an image of a test object and the computer system can then simultaneously, display on the visual display, an image of a test object and an image of a reference object and operator input applied through the interface can switch the computer system between three different image analysis states, a first state for manipulating the image of the test object, a second state for manipulating the image of the reference object and a third state for manipulating the combined images of the test object and the reference object. When the interface is in the third state, the image of the test object and the reference object are joined together on the visual display in an overlapping configuration with the visible portions of the image of the reference object and the image of the test object separated by a line of separation, the line of separation being manipulated by operator input means. Operator input to manipulate the line of separation, while the interface is in the third state, causes the line of separation to rotate about a central point, which as it rotates, it successively reveals different portions of the overlapped images of the test object and the image of the reference object so that the operator can compare and analyze them.
In yet another aspect of this invention, the first annular control means has an operator actionable marker, which masker, as the operator moves it around the first annular ring generates the signal which causes the workpiece to rotate in the same direction through the same angular distance as the marker is moved, by the operator, on the first annular control means.
In yet another aspect of this invention the operator activates the interface with a pointing device. The pointing device can be: a mouse, track ball, touch pad, light pen and PC styles. Alternatively, the operator can activate the various parts of the interface with a touch sensitive screen.
According to the invention, there is also provided a method for a computer system to manipulate objects and images which includes the steps of:
generating an actionable interface for a visual display with at least two annular control means: the first annular control means, when activated, generates a control signal of rotational motion which rotates a workpiece within a reference frame, the second annular control means, when activated, generates a control signal of translational motion which moves the workpiece within the reference frame;
moving a workpiece within the reference frame to a desired location in that reference frame, with the control signal of translational motion generated by activating the second annular control means;
rotating the workpiece within the reference frame to a desired angular orientation with the control signal of rotational motion generated by activating the first annular control means; and
conducting at least one of the following imaging, analysis and comparison.
The method of the invention preferably includes one or more of the additional steps of generating the first and second annular control means such that they are concentric and thus share a common center. Generating a third annular control means which shares the common center with the first and second annular control means, wherein activation of the third annular control means generates a signal of translational motion which moves the workpiece in large increments and the signal of translational motion generated by activation of the second annular control means moves the work piece in small increments.
Another alternative aspect of the method of this invention involves generating a control signal by operator input at a selected spot on the second annular control means which moves the workpiece in the direction of a vector pointing radially away from a center of the second annular control means and normal to a line tangent to a point on an outside circumference of the second annular control means which point is the closest point on the outside periphery to the selected spot.
In yet another alternative aspect of the method of this invention the step of generating the interface includes segmenting the second annular control means into four equal arcs, with each arc forming a separate button for directed motion, which on individual activation of each button generates a control signal for movement of the workpiece on a vector in a direction which is radially away from a common center of the arcs, said vector being normal to the center of the peripheral outside edge of the arc so activated, the arcs being so positioned that the direction of the vector of any one arc being perpendicular to the direction of the vectors of the two adjacent arcs and 180 degrees from the direction of the vector of the arc on the opposite of the common center. This alternative aspect can include the additional step of generating a third concentric annular control means which shares the common center with the second annular control means, the third annular control means being segmented into four equal arcs, each arc so formed by the third annular control means being paired with an arc of the second annular control means so that the paired arcs form two buttons for movement of the workpiece along a vector in the same direction, one of the arcs of each pair providing for small incremental movements of the workpiece and the other arc of each pair providing for large incremental movements of the workpiece. The method of this invention can also include generating two buttons at the common center of the annular control means, one of said buttons upon operator activation rotates the workpiece in a clockwise direction and the other button on operator activation rotates the workpiece in a counterclockwise direction.
In yet another aspect of the method of this invention it can include switching between two operating modes, a first mode for image acquisition and second for image analysis, comparison and manipulation. The step of operating in the first operating mode comprises manipulating with the interface a workpiece which is both an object and an image of that object, the image of the object so manipulated appearing on the visual display. In the step of operating in the second operating mode the workpiece is an image of a reference object and an image of a test object and the step of operating in the second operating mode includes simultaneously displaying on the visual display the image of the test object and the image of the reference object, and a further step, switching the interface in the second operating mode between three different states, a first state for manipulating he image of the test object, a second state for manipulating the image of the reference object and a third state for manipulating a combined image of the test object and the reference object. The step of operating in the first operating mode can also include the step of selecting one of two different states to operate in: a first state for acquisition of an image of a cartridge case and a second state of the first operating mode for acquisition of images of the land engraved areas of a spent bullet The step of operating in the second state includes the step of mapping to the first annular control means a representation of each land engraved area successfully imaged.
In another aspect of the invention it provides a method of displaying contours of a surface of an object, the method comprising the steps of: providing an interface with a peripheral surface; obtaining positional information on contours of said surface of said object; and altering said interfaces peripheral surface to display said information on the contours of portions of said object.
In yet another aspect of this method the step of obtaining the information on the contours of said surface of said object comprises scanning the surface of said object and generating a mathematical function approximating said surface of said object.
In yet another aspect of this method the step of altering said interfaces peripheral surface comprises: altering the peripheral surface of said interface apparatus with the information from said mathematical function.
In yet another aspect of this method it includes the additional step of imaging selected portions of said surface of said object and indicating on the peripheral surface of said interface which portions of said surface of said object have been imaged.